“I am grateful to receive the support of so many great leaders in Iowa,” said Mitt Romney. “We will work together to turn around the economy, put Americans back to work, and reverse the failed policies of the last three years.”

“Mitt Romney is the candidate we need to put this country back on the right track,” said State Representative Linda Miller. “As governor, he balanced the budget and created jobs without raising taxes. He knows what is needed to get the economy moving again and has the private sector and government experience to do just that.”

MANCHESTER, N.H. — As Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney began a campaign swing across New Hampshire on Wednesday, he picked up several key endorsements here and in the first-caucus state of Iowa.

Romney also won the backing of Vin Weber, a former Minnesota congressman and prominent Washington lobbyist who had served as national co-chairman of former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty’s presidential campaign.

“It is an honor to again work with Mitt Romney,” Weber said in a statement issued by the campaign. “At such a critical time in our nation’s history, it is important that we have someone with his background to lead the country.”

Romney said he was proud to have Weber’s support: “Vin will be a trusted adviser, and I look forward to working with him to help get our country moving in the right direction again.”
[...]
In a May interview with The Washington Post, Weber explained why he was backing Pawlenty over Romney.

“After the election of President Obama, who is in so many ways a different kind of candidate than we’ve seen before, there are a lot of Republicans who really want to see a new face at the top of our ticket,” Weber said. “That’s the only explanation I can put on it. Mitt is a great guy and a strong candidate in my view.”

Weber added: “I never came to the conclusion I was disaffected from Mitt Romney. I thought he was a great guy, a great candidate and I think the world of him. But I had to make a very personal decision. Tim Pawlenty’s been a friend of mine for 20-plus years. I think Pawlenty’s a great candidate.”

Romney also won endorsements Wednesday from two elected officials in Iowa who had supported Pawlenty’s bid. State Rep. Linda Miller and Dallas County Recorder Chad Airhart are joining Romney’s leadership team.
[...]“I am grateful to receive the support of so many great leaders in Iowa,” Romney said in a statement. “We will work together to turn around the economy, put Americans back to work and reverse the failed policies of the last three years.”